Another Chance
by Nonsense-Nosense
Summary: After the war,Kingsley learns some disturbing facts about the Potter siblings' upbringing and decides to give them a second chance at childhood.So,he de-ages them,wipes their memories,and takes them to Anthony Stark,an old friend and a muggle who owes him several favors.He convinces the American to adopt the two now five-year-old twins in the hopes that they can help fix each other
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or Iron Man. I only own my OC and this plot.**

* * *

Harry and Jade Potter shared an uncertain look as they entered the office Kingsley Shacklebolt, the recently elected Minister of Magic. The man looked solemn.

"Kingsley? What's wrong?" Jade asked, frowning in concern. He gestured for them to sit before doing the same.

"Miss Potter, we recently received word of your living conditions while in your relatives care. Would you care to tell us why you never informed anyone that you slept in a cupboard?"

The two paled drastically.

"How did you find that out?" Harry demanded.

"Your cousin, Dudley, bragged about it to Dedalus and Hestia. You were abused." Kingsley stated plainly, his eyes smoldering with anger. "Harry, Jade, the two of you have done more than anyone else for the Wizarding World at the cost of your own happiness. Let me ask you a question: If you could relive your childhood - with a non-abusive family and not having to where that pig's cast-offs -would you?"

The siblings looked at each other, considering, before turning back to Kingsley and nodding.

"We'd love to have a proper childhood, Kingsley, but it's not possible."

Kingsley grinned, confusing them.

"What if I told you it was possible? That we could de-age you to a young age and ensure that you're adopted -together- by a loving family?"

"We'd say 'sign us up'. But is it? Can you do it or are you just asking hypothetical questions just to get our hopes up."

Kingsley smirked.

"It's more than possible - and if you two would look me in the eyes, I can do this now. You'll disappear completely. The only thing you'll take with you is a Gringotts bank card, a passport, and citizenship papers. You'll be leaving the country with nothing but the memories you had at that age. Do you want to do it?"

They both nodded eagerly. Smiling, Kingsley drew his wand. Aiming it first at Harry, he focused on the memories and years he wanted to erase from their minds, and said,

"Obliviate."

* * *

Anthony Stark jumped away from the fireplace in his father's study when it burst into green flames and two small children and six foot tall black man stepped out. Well, the children stumbled, but none of them were on fire. He frowned. Tony frowned. He had done business with wizards before, but that didn't explain why one would bring him two children…. The man smiled down at the two frightened-looking children.

"Why don't you guys see if you can find the drawing room while I talk to Mr. Stark?"

The two nodded and left the room. Tony had recognized the man when he smiled, and was now grinning.

"Kingsley! It's been a while! How've you been?"

Kingsley, however, didn't returned the grin.

"Tony, we need to talk."

Sighing, Tony took a seat behind his father's desk and gestured for Kingsley to do the same.

"What do you need?"

"I'm calling in one of the favors you owe me. I need you to adopt Harry and Jade Potter."

Tony gave him a blank look.

"Who?"

Kingsley rolled his eyes.

"The two kids I brought with me, Tony."

The rest of the request sank in and Tony began frantically shaking his head.

"No. No way! I can't take care of a couple of kids, Kingsley! I wouldn't know how!"

"You owe me, Stark! And you are literally the only person on the planet I can trust with them. I need you to take them in. The need you!"

Tony stared at him.

"Why me? Why not someone else? Someone more responsible?"

Kingsley sighed,

"Because, Tony, they were born in 1981. Well, Harry was. Jade was born in '77."

Tony stared at him like he was crazy.

"Kings, that's not possible. They were three at most, maybe four, but they sure as hell don't look 17!"

"That's because I de-aged them. Listen to their story and you'll see why."

He then proceeded to tell the American the story of the now twin Potters. By the end of it, both men were nursing a bottle of Scotch.

"So, he knowingly placed them in an abusive home in the hopes to mould the perfect soldiers?" Tony demanded incredulously, eyes bulging with rage. Kingsley nodded.

"Dumbledore needed weapons. He needed someone who would take orders with no questions asked. Someone completely beholden to him. Two abused, orphaned children fit that bill perfectly. Their aunt and uncle did their jobs well. They were shy, ignorant of their inheritance, humble, and completely in awe of Albus Dumbledore." Here, a shit-eating grin fought its way onto his face, "The only wrench in Albus' carefully laid plans was that they were completely independent. They depended only on themselves and each other. Coincidentally, Harry was born on the same day she was, three years later. It was easy to make the two five-year-old twins and adjust their memories… make them share a few. Jade had to grow up faster than any child should. Tony, please - you can give them a better life. Take them, please. Raise them the way your father should have raised you."

Sighing, the billionaire nodded.

"Alright, I'll do it. I'll adopt them."

Kingsley grinned.

"Excellent. The papers are already filled out - all you need to do is sign and they'll legally become Jade and Harry Stark."

Glaring, but unable to argue, he took the quill and papers Kingsley held out for him and signed on the dotted line. He watched as the children's' last name was replaced with his. It was official. He, Anthony Edward Stark, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist, was a father.

* * *

**So... I got this idea after giving into the urge to read Avenger/Harry Potter crossovers after I watched The Avengers with my mom. Anybody wondering why I haven't updated any of my other stories... This and writers' block is why. Please review and tell me what you think.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Everything below belongs to Jeff Vintar and Stan Lee. Anything recognizable was transcripted from intheirsandbox. co. uk. (only without the spaces)**

* * *

Harry and Jade looked around the Malibu house nervously. They had been living with Tony for two years now, and they had warmed to him, but they were still very shy around him. Every time they did something very simple - like ask a question or wake up after he did - they would apologize profusely and beg him not to starve or hurt them. It had gotten out immediately that Tony Stark, son of weapons manufacturer Howard Stark, had adopted to abused children from England. Reporters began stalking him more than usual, hoping for a glimpse of the mystery twins. It made it very hard to shop for his new children, but he managed. He had also resolved with Kingsley to hire tutors for the two when they turned eleven instead of sending them to a school for Witchcraft. They would be going to a private school during the day and spend their evenings with Tony. They would be enrolled under their former name, Potter, so as not to gain attention from the media. Tony had kept them at the Manor while he had his Malibu beach house rebuilt to accommodate three people, with a guest room that his children insisted upon. They looked to Tony, who was watching them expectantly, and smiled hesitantly. Tony smiled back.

"Do you like it? You can see the ocean for miles. Oh, and don't be shocked when the house talks to you. I've built an AI into the main frame that runs the house. I've named him Jarvis. I thought you two'd like to hear something familiar, so I programmed him with a British accent."

He grinned when they giggled and nodded their approval. He had still yet to convince them that they didn't have to do chores, so he had also programmed Jarvis to alert him when they got out of bed before 9:00 in the morning. He wondered when it would sink in that they were no longer slaves? Shaking his head, he spoke.

"Why don't you two follow me to your rooms and tell me what colors you want them to be."

He saw their surprised looks and suppressed a sigh. He had a lot of work ahead of him.

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Las Vegas, Caesar's Palace 2008 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_

Harry and Jade sat next to their Uncle Obadiah while a voice over played in accompany to a slideshow of pictures of their father.

Stark. Visionary. Genius. American patriot. _[Tony on the cover of Wired magazine] _Even from an early age, the son of legendary weapons developer Howard Stark quickly stole the spotlight with his brilliant and unique mind. At age four, he built his first circuit board. At age six, his first engine. And at 17, he graduated summa cum laude from MIT [magazine images of Tony from childhood through his teens] Then, the passing of a titan. _[newspaper cutting of Howard and Maria Stark's death in December 1991] _Howard Stark's lifelong friend and ally, Obadiah Stane steps in to help fill the gap left by the legendary founder, until, at age 21, the prodigal son returns and is anointed the new CEO of Stark lndustries. With the keys to the kingdom, Tony ushers in a new era for his father's legacy _[Magazine articles of Tony and Obadiah] _Creating smarter weapons, advanced robotics, satellite targeting. Today, Tony Stark has changed the face of the weapons industry by ensuring freedom and protecting America and her interests around the globe_. [images of Stark Industries' weapons as well as Tony on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine] _

Once the slideshow was over, Colonel James Rhodes (Uncle Rhodey to the twins) stood to present the Apogee Award.

"As liaison to Stark Industries, I've had the unique privilege of serving with a real patriot. He is my friend and he is my great mentor. Ladies and gentlemen, it is my honour to present this year's Apogee Award to Mr. Tony Stark." he looked around, "Tony?"

The audience began to look around for the billionaire when he didn't show. With a pointed look from his 'niece and nephew' Obadiah stood and went to accept the award. He took if from Rhodey with a smile.

"Thank you, Colonel."

Rhodey leaned into whisper, 'Thanks for the save'.

"This is beautiful. Thank you. Thank you all very much. This is wonderful... Well, I'm not Tony Stark. But if I were Tony, I would tell you how honoured I feel and what a joy it is to receive this very prestigious award. Tony, you know... The best thing about Tony is also the worst thing. He's always working."

Harry and Jade both snorted at this. Loudly. Rhodey and Obadiah shot them admonishing looks, but both were fighting to keep straight faces at the two fourteen-year-olds' innocent expressions, and it didn't have quite the same effect.

* * *

The next morning, Harry and Jade woke expecting to have to drag their father out of the lab for breakfast as usual. They did not, however, expect to see a reporter from _Vanity Fair _magazine stepping out of their father's room wearing one of his shirts. Jade turned green and was pushed towards the kitchen by Harry before the woman could see her. She left gratefully, feeling slightly guilty for leaving her brother alone with her. Harry, on the other hand, was smirking. It was rare that he got to one before Pepper, their dad's PA. He wouldn't kick her out, but he wanted to see her face when Pepper did. When she spotted him, she smiled charmingly, ignoring her state of undress.

"Hello, I'm -"

"Christine Everhart, _Vanity Fair_ magazine. Yes, I know. You've tried several times to get an interview with my father." he grinned, "I'm the one who deletes the emails."

Her smile faltered, but stayed in place.

"Mr. Stark, could I ask you a few questions about your father?"

Harry shrugged.

"You can ask, but I won't guarantee an answer." he replied nonchalantly. Again, the smile faltered, but remained.

"How do you feel about your father's weapons dealing?"

Another shrug.

"So long as he doesn't bring any of it home, my sister and I don't have a problem with it."

"Where is your sister?"

"Fixing a breakfast-to-go for our dad. Miss. Pepper will be here soon to get him out of the lab and send him off for his flight. He's going to have to eat while he drives if he races happy again. Jade won't let him leave without breakfast."

"Does your sister make breakfast often?"

"We do it in turns. Whoever cooked the day before gets to drag dad out of the lab. Jade thinks he doesn't eat enough."

"Oh? Why's that?"

Harry smirked.

"Because he doesn't. He only ever comes up to spend time with us or do business, and it's always a fight to get him to eat. Drives Peps and Jade mad."

"Because your father cannot survive on sex and booze alone, Harry. Miss Everhart, I've got your clothes here. They've been dry-cleaned and pressed, and there's a car waiting for you outside that will take you anywhere you'd like to go."

Harry turned around, beaming, at the sound of Pepper Potts' voice. He hugged her in greeting.

"Pepper! You're late!"

Pepper smirked.

"I had to pick up Miss. Everhart's dry cleaning."

Christine jumped into the conversation.

"You must be the famous Pepper Potts."

Pepper smiled, though Harry could see the smugness in her eyes just as clearly as he could see the jealousy in Christine's.

"Indeed I am."

Christine smirked.

"After all these years, Tony still has you picking up the dry cleaning."

Pepper smiled sweetly.

"I do anything and everything that Mr. Stark requires. Including, occasionally, taking out the trash. Will that be all?"

Harry stifled a laugh at the dumbfounded look on the woman's face. Jade re-entered the room at that moment and gently shooed the stricken woman back to the bedroom to change.

* * *

Harry followed Pepper down to his dad's lab, carrying his breakfast, while Jade consoled the poor reporter and escorted the heartbroken woman off the premises. Pepper got a phone call on the way down and was saying just as the two of them entered the lab,

"I'm gonna try again, right now."

"Please don't turn down my music." his dad pleaded. Harry rolled his eyes. Pepper just gave him a stern look.

"You are supposed to be halfway around the world right now."

"How'd she take it?"

"Jade's escorting her out." Harry told him the same time Pepper said,

"Like a champ."

Tony sent his son an amused look before speaking to Pepper.

"Why are you trying to hustle me out of here?"

"Your flight was scheduled an hour an a half ago."

"You better say good-bye to Jade this time. She's threatened to permanently maim you this time if you don't." Harry interrupted. Tony winced and nodded.

"That's funny, I thought with it being my plane and all, that it would just wait for me to get there."

"Larry called. He's got another buyer for the Jackson Pollock in the wings. Do you want it? Yes or no."

"She also said she'd shut Jarvis down if you didn't eat the food she made you on the way there and if you didn't eat while you were gone. And she said 'no, cheeseburgers don't count'."

Tony pouted, but nodded again, taking the bag Harry held out for him, asking Pepper,

"Is it a good representation of his spring period?"

"Erm, no. The Springs was actually the neighborhood in East Hampton where he lived and worked, not "spring" like the season."

"So?"

"I think it's a fair example. Erm, I think it's incredibly overpriced."

"I need it. Buy it. Store it."

Harry took a look at the price and whistled. He and Pepper shared a look and nodded. Jade was going to kill him.

"Okay, the MIT commencement speech…"

"Is in June. Please don't harangue me about stuff that's way, way down…"

"Their haranguing me, so I'm gonna say yes."

"Deflect it and absorb it. Don't transmit it back to me."

"I need you to sign this before you leave."

"What are you trying to get rid of me for? What, you got plans?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"I don't like it when you have plans."

"I'm allowed to have plans on my birthday."

"It's your birthday?"

Harry gave his father a 'Really?' look.

"Yes."

"I knew that. Already?"

"Yeah. Isn't that strange? It's the same day as last year."

"Get yourself something nice from me."

Harry smirked at the flirting. Tony, catching the smirk glared at him.

"I already did." Pepper answered, smiling.

"And?"

"It was very nice."

"Yeah?"

"Very tasteful. Thank you, Mr. Stark."

"You're welcome, Miss Potts."

Harry developed a sudden coughing fit, drawing Pepper's attention to him, as well a getting another glare from Tony. She grinned at Tony.

"I'm also kidnapping your children for the day."

Tony gaped at her, while Harry whooped and kissed the woman's cheek. Pepper laughed and shoved him away.

"Alright, you hooligan. Go tell your sister to get dressed as soon as she says good-bye to your father." she gave Tony another stern look. "Don't forget."

He held his hands up in surrender and went upstairs. It was only on the way there did he remember that he hadn't seen his daughter that day. He paled. Jade was going to kill him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Once again, all things recognizable belong to Jeff Vintar and Stan Lee. Harry Potter belongs to J.K.R.**

* * *

Jade glared at the phone in her brother's hand until he winced and put it back to his ear, saying,

"She doesn't want to talk to you right now. You might want to wait a few hours."

"_Put me on speaker, Harry._"

"She'll kill me! Just because you pissed her off doesn't mean you have to take me down with you!"

"_Just do it._"

He sighed.

"Alright, alright, fine, but if I die it's your fault."

He put the phone on speaker.

"_Jade, I'm sorry -_"

"I don't want to hear it! This is the tenth time you've forgotten to say good-bye to me!"

"_Princess, please - I was in a hurry this morning. I was running late -_"

"You're always running late, Anthony Edward! I've had it! After ten in the afternoon and before ten in the morning, I'm shutting Jarvis down! You won't be heading into the lab, and you most certainly won't be forgetting to let me know you're leaving! Again! And Jarvis agrees with me!"

Tony winced when his little girl called him 'Anthony Edward'. She hadn't called him Anthony or any variation of it since she was nine.

"_I've got to go, Dad. Our DADA tutor is here. We're taking our O.W.L.s this week. I'll talk to you when you get back._"

The line went dead. Tony groaned and held his head in his hands. Rhodey patted his back.

"You'll be back tomorrow. You can make it up to her then."

Sighing in resignation, he nodded and asked the flight attendant for a bottle of bourbon.

_~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ Afghanistan ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~_

Tony sat with the three airman, nursing a tumbler of whiskey in complete silence. He decided to break the silence.

"I feel like you're driving me to a court-martial... This is crazy. What did I do?... I feel like you're going to pull over and snuff me... What, you're not allowed to talk? Hey Forrest!"

"We're allowed to talk, sir."

"Oh, I see. So it's personal?"

"No, you intimidate them."

Tony snorted.

"Good God, you're a woman. I honestly... I couldn't have called that. I mean, I'd apologize, but isn't that what we're going for here?" the airmen smiled, "I thought of you as a soldier first."

"I'm an airman."

"You have, actually, excellent bone structure there... I'm kind of having a hard time not looking at you now... Is that weird?" _Jade would probably tease me about a man-crush if she heard that,_ he thought wistfully as the airmen laughed. "Come on, it's okay, laugh."

"Sir, I have a question to ask." stated the front passenger. Tony grinned at him.

"Yes, please."

"Is it true you went 12 for 12 with last year's Maxim cover models?"

He fought back a laugh. Jade had laughed at him for hours over that incident.

"That is an excellent question. Yes and no. March and I had a scheduling conflict, but fortunately, the Christmas cover was twins. Anything else?" Forrest raised his hand, "You're kidding me with the hand up, right?"

"Is it cool if I take a picture with you?"

"Yes. It's very cool. All right. I don't want to see this on your MySpace page." Forrest holds up a peace sign, "Please, no gang signs." he lowers his hand, garnering a laugh from Tony, "No, throw it up. I'm kidding. Yeah, peace. I love peace. I'd be out of a job with peace."

"Come on. Hurry up. Just click it. Don't change any settings. Just click it."

The humvee in front of them exploded.

"What's going on?" Tony demanded. They ignored him.

"Contact left!"

"What have we got?!"

The driver was shot immediately when he left the humvee.

"Jimmy, stay with Stark!"

"Stay down!"

"Yeah."

The front passenger was shot as he got out.

"Son of a bitch!"

"Wait! Wait! Wait! Give me a gun!" Tony commanded.

"Stay here!" Forrest leaves the vehicle and gets shot in the head.

"Whoa!"

Tony scrambled out of the humvee as soldiers were killed left and right. He dove behind a rock to hide and tried to make a phone call, but a small Stark Industries rocket landed next to him and exploded. Tony was thrown in the air, when he landed he opened his shirt to find blood slowly covering the body armor he was wearing.

* * *

Jade stared at Rhodey in disbelief. Her father had been captured whilst in Afghanistan and they had no idea if he was alive or not. She looked at Harry, who's fists were clenched, and saw tears building in his eyes. She shook her head slowly.

"No! We just talked to him a few hours ago! He said he was coming home tomorrow!" she shouted. Rhodey sighed.

"I'm sorry, Jade, but our men are dead and Tony is missing."

She finally allowed her tears to fall.

"And the last thing I did was yell at him for not saying good-bye." she whispered. Harry and Rhodey both stared after her with wide eyes as she jumped to her feet and fled the room. Harry ran a hand through his unruly hair and looked Rhodey in the eye.

"Find him and bring him back alive, Rhodey, or I don't think she can take it."

Rhodes nodded, saluting the teen before turning on his heel and leaving. He was going to find his friend and bring him home to his children - even if it killed him.

* * *

Tony woke in a cave to the sight of a man shaving in front of a small mirror. He tried to move, but found himself attached to a car battery.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." the man warned, watching as Tony frantically yanked at the bandages on his chest to find a circular, metal device embedded in his heart.

"What the hell did you do to me?" he demanded.

"What I did... What I did is to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there's a lot left, and it's headed into your arterial septum." he held out a jar. "Here, want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look. I've seen many wounds like that in my village. We call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs."

"What is this?"

"That is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it's keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart." Tony saw the CCTV in the cave. "That's right. Smile. We met once, you know, at a technical conference in Bern."

"I don't remember."

"No, you wouldn't. lf I had been that drunk, I wouldn't have been able to stand, much less give a lecture on integrated circuits."

That rang a dim bell…. But Tony had given several lectures in Bern.

"Was this sometime within the last nine years?" he asked. The man looked surprised, but nodded.

"Yes, three years ago."

Tony laughed.

"I remember the morning after that. Jade nearly killed me. Though I learned something very important that day: don't anger a red head. They are _loud_. And merciless." he added with a wince. The man raised his eyebrows.

"Who is Jade?"

Tony smiled fondly.

"My daughter. She was furious. She barged into my room and started shouting at me for being an idiot. Said she didn't care that I had a hangover and that it was my 'own bloody fault'. God, I wish I'd said good-bye before I left. She thinks I forgot, but I didn't. I don't like saying good-bye to my little girl. I love to say hello to her though. She's always so damn happy to see me." he chuckled, "At least, before the hitting starts. She's got everyone in that house wrapped around her finger. Including my AI. My own house will turn against me if she says so! Jarvis, the house, actually helps her ground me by locking me out of my lab and shutting down everything that can be used as a computer. He even shuts down my dad's old calculator."

The other man smiled softly.

"She sounds like quite the young lady."

"Oh, she is. Gives me a better dressing-down than my own mother did. Where are we?" talking about Jade was becoming painful. He asked this just as their captors entered the cave.

"Come on, stand up. Stand up! Just do as I do. Come on, put your hands up."

"Those are my guns. How did they get my guns?"

"Do you understand me? Do as I do."

One of their captors began speaking to Tony in a foreign language. The man translates.

"He says, 'Welcome, Tony Stark, the most famous mass murderer in the history of America. He is honoured. He wants you to build the missile. The Jericho missile that you demonstrated. This one'."

"I refuse." Tony stated defiantly. The men grabbed him and began to shove his head repeatedly in a bucket.

* * *

Jade snapped from her numb stupor when she heard Obadiah say 'funeral arrangements'. She turned on the man with a snarl.

"He. Is. Not. Dead! There will be no funeral arrangements until I see a body, and he won't be 'declared legally dead' until I see a _fucking_ body!" she spat at him, "Until there's proof of demise, nobody in this fucking company had better fucking _sneeze _without my say so, got it? Because Tony left Harry and I as his sole heirs when he died, Obadiah! Production stops until Dad is found, or I'll shut the fucker down for good." she growled. Pepper, Obadiah, and the rest of the board of directors all stared at her. Harry, however was unsurprised. He took her by the elbow and led her gently to the door.

"Why don't you go home and have a bit of a lie-in? I'll deal with things here."

Nodding, she allowed him to hug her and left the room. Harry turned back to the adults in the room, a feral gleam in his eyes.

"I stand by what my sister just said. Until our father is found - dead or alive - all production stops. There will be no funeral plans until she and I have confirmed for ourselves that he is dead. I suggest you all go home and take advantage of your time off. Obadiah, you and I need to talk."

After the other board members had filed out and Pepper had gone home to check on Jade, Obadiah and Harry were the only ones left. Anger, fear, and fatigue overcoming him - Harry slammed a hand down on the table, drawing the man's attention to himself.

"What in the nine hells is wrong with you, Obie? Jade's in a delicate state right now. She doesn't need you jumping on the 'Tony's dead' bandwagon and making damn funeral arrangements! You'll wait until there's proof, or I'll make damn sure you loose your share of the company and are out on your ass! I don't need you upsetting her anymore than she already has been. I've got Jarvis and others monitoring your emails and phone calls. If you try to hold another board meeting before he gets back, or production picks back up before he gets back - you'll be out on the curb so fast your head will spin. Are we clear?" He hissed. Obadiah nodded, resentful of being threatened by a fourteen-year-old and knowing that it wasn't idle. Harry James Potter-Stark was merciless when it came to his family. Supposedly inheriting his biological grandfather's ruthlessness helped with that. The young man already had a reputation in business and political circles as someone not to cross. With a curt nod, Harry turned on his heel and left the room. He knew something was off with Obadiah - he just didn't know what.

* * *

**Next chapter: Tony returns! How will Jade react? Will Harry figure out Obadiah before it's too late?**


	4. Chapter 4

Jade wasn't a genius - but she wasn't stupid either. She knew Obadiah was up to something. So she wasn't really surprised when her brother had come to her and told her to be ready to buy Obadiah out of the company. Living with a genius really helped their own mental capabilities. By the time they were twelve, the two had found a way to meld magic and technology without it blowing up or shorting out. Now Gringotts had access to the internet and had all of their client's accounts on file in a computer. It would be quite easy to wire a large sum of money from one of their vaults into Obadiah's account. They had inherited quite a bit of gold from their parents - they were the richest family in Europe. Buying out the old man wouldn't even put a dent in their fortune. However, Jade wasn't worried about buying Obadiah Stane's share of Stark Industries. That was only too easy. No, now she was hacking into JARVIS' main frame and into her father's private files. She was in the lab with his music up loud, looking for anything that would help her find her father. She had been doing this for months. She growled in frustration when she entered Obadiah's files instead of her father's. She was about to back out when something caught her eye. Obadiah had been paying large amounts of cash to two accounts for the past three months. One for the military and one foreign. She was just about to hack into the foreign account when a hand dropped down on her shoulder. Nearly jumping out of her skin, she spun around to find Harry and Pepper grinning at her. Turning down the music, she raised an inquiring brow.

"Is there a reason you two loons felt the need to give me a heart attack?" she asked drolly. Pepper looked sheepish, but Harry just grinned wider.

"They found him. He's on his way home now. He's alive."

Jade felt her eyes grow round with surprise. Then she jumped her brother. They had found their father alive and he was coming home. A sob escaped her. Harry put his arms around her and rubbed soothing circles in her back, grinning at a startled, but relieved Pepper. Other than her outburst at the last board of directors meeting, this was the first sign of emotions she had shown since Tony had disappeared. They had gotten Tony back, now they had Jade back.

* * *

Tony stood up from his wheel chair and, with Rhodey guiding him off the plane, looked for his children. He was disappointed when he didn't see them. He turned to Rhodey.

"Where are Jade and Harry?"

Rhodey grimaced.

"We he had to sedate Jade. She hasn't slept since you were kidnapped. Harry's staying with her."

Tony frowned. He had been going to call a press conference, but it sounded like his daughter needed him more. He looked back out and saw the ambulance. He shook his head. It was the conference or the hospital. He wouldn't get to see Jade either way.

"Are you kidding me with this? Get rid of them." He grinned at Pepper as he walked down the ramp. "Your eyes are red. A few tears for your long-lost boss?"

Pepper smiled.

"Tears of joy. I hate job hunting."

"Yeah, vacation's over."

He, Pepper and Happy got in the car.

"Where to, sir?"

Pepper spoke before Tony could open his mouth.

"Take us to the hospital, please, Happy."

"No."

Pepper gave him a startled look.

"No? Tony, you have to go to the hospital."

"No is a complete answer."

"The doctor has to look at you."

"I don't have to do anything. I've been in captivity for three months. There are three things I want to do. I want an American cheese burger, I want to see my children and the third -"

"That's enough of that."

" - is not what you think. I want you to call for a press conference now."

"Call for a press conference?" Pepper was incredulous.

"Yeah."

"What on earth for?"

Tony ignored her.

"Hogan, drive. Cheeseburger first."

* * *

While his sister slept, Harry turned on the TV and flipped to the news. What he saw made him cringe. His dad was sitting in front of a group of reporters, his arm in a sling, eating a cheeseburger. Jade was going to murder him. He sighed and sat back to watch the show. His eyes grew wide when he heard his father say,

"… effective immediately, I am shutting down the weapons manufacturing division until such a time as I can decide what the future of the company will be. What direction it should take, one that I'm comfortable with and is consistent with the highest good for this country, as well."

The TV went black. Harry turned around to see his sister standing behind him, a calm expression on her face with the remote in her hand. He winced. His father was in _so_ much trouble.

"Well, Dad's been busy." she said delicately as she sat down beside him. Harry winced again. He hated that tone. It meant that she was hurt and trying to hide it. Yeah, his dad was in trouble. And Harry would be the first one ripping into him. Sighing, he took his sister in his arms and coaxed her back to sleep.

When Tony got home, he was greeted by a punch in the face and furious green eyes. Obviously, Harry had seen the press conference. Pepper rushed forward while Tony held his most likely broken nose, intending to scold the teen. She stopped short, however, when Harry hissed,

"What were you thinking? If you weren't going to go hospital then you should have come straight home! She's been beating herself up for _three months _because the last thing she said to you was a dismissive comment about O.W.L.s! And the first thing you do when you get here is get a cheeseburger and talk to the press?! She saw it too, you know. Three months, she's barely slept - and when she finally does she wakes up to _that_?! Are you out of your bloody mind? You bloody well had better have a damn good excuse, because you have a hell of a lot of explaining to do Stark!"

Wincing, both at the pain and the use of his surname, Tony replied.

"Well, if you'd give me a minute, I would. Go wake your sister."

Grudgingly, Harry did as he was told. The second Jade saw their father, she launched herself at him.

"Dad!" she buried her face in his chest. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry…" she muttered. Tony's heart clenched and he wound his good arm around his daughter, guiding her back over to the couch and into his lap. She curled up there and snuggled into him. He ran his fingers through her auburn hair.

"Shh, princess. You've got nothing to be sorry for. It's me who should be apologizing. I'm sorry I didn't say good-bye and I'm sorry I didn't come straight home. And I'm so sorry you've been losing sleep over me."

She burrowed further into his embrace and Harry asked.

"So, why did you feel it more important to talk to reporters than come home to your distraught daughter?"

Tony fixed his son with a stern look. He let Harry get away with a lot of things, but breaking his nose and blatantly disrespecting him were not one of them.

"Harry." he reprimanded sharply. Reluctantly, he bowed his head in submission.

"Sorry." He took out his wand and pointed it at Tony's nose. "_Episkey_." He felt his nose pop back in place and automatically fix itself.

He nodded his head in thanks.

"They had my weapons. Our weapons. They wanted me to build them a Jericho missile. That's what kept me alive, them thinking I was building a missile. I actually built a metal suit that helped me escape. A man named Yinsen kept me alive by putting this in my chest," he unbuttoned his shirt and showed them the device, "to stop shrapnel from an explosion from getting to my heart. You know the old arc reactor we built a few years ago?"

Both teens nodded.

"Well, I'm going to replace this with a smaller one of those, then I'm going to expand on arc technology."

The teens looked thoughtful. Finally, Jade said,

"Just be careful. Something's going on here and I don't like the smell of it."

Tony smiled.

"I will, princess. Now why don't you catch up on some sleep?"

She nodded. And then promptly fell asleep in his lap. Harry laughed quietly before growing sober.

"She's been having nightmares. It's why she wouldn't sleep. You're going to have to sleep with her until the shock of the whole situation wears off and it finally sinks in that you're alive and safe."

Tony nodded and smiled at his son.

"I was going to anyway. I missed you two while I was gone."

Grinning, Harry hugged his father. Then helped him get his sister to bed without waking her. The three fell asleep curled up together.


End file.
